Construction for loading automobiles in freight cars



A. COPONY.

CONSTRUCTION FOR LOADING AUTOMOBILES IN FREIGHT CARS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR- 22. I920.

Reissued DOO. 5, 1922.

2 SHEETSSHEET l- 0.2." edCb ooig. 65%, 7/W7.

A. COPONY.

CONSTRUCTION FOR LOADING AUTOMOBILES IN FREIGHT CARS. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 22. 1920.

Reissued Dec. 5, 1922. I r 15,500.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

1 2720877751. .kjffred 5900/9.

Reissue! Dec. 5, 1922 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED COPONY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO COPONY AUTO-LOADING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF .MIOHIGAN.

CONSTRUCTION FOR LOADING AUTOMOBILES IN FREIGHT CABS.

Original 10'. 1,186,558, dated June 18, 1918, Serial 1W0. 90,088, filed April 10, 1916. Reissue No. 14,385,

flled'June 22, 1917. This application or reissue filed larch dated July 31, 1917, Serial No. 176,488, 22, 1920. Serial No. 867,898.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED OOPONY, a citizen of the Austrian Republic, residin at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and tate 5 of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Constructions for Loading utomobiles in Freight Cars, of which the following-is a specification, reference being had herein to the accompanying drawings.

his invention relates to automobile freight cars and refers more particularly to a new andimproved construction for loading automobiles in freight cars, the automobiles being placed one above another.

The salient objects of the invention are to provide a construction whereby two'tiers of automobiles can be conveniently located in cars having such asmall clearance .that the present methods of loading will only permit one layer of automobiles to be loaded therein; to provide a simple and rigid construction in which the suspension elements for the automobiles are rigidly braced by triangular braces in two or more planes; to provide a construction in which the triangular bracing above referred to can be utilized and the apex of at least one of the triangles changed in position so as to adjust the automobile up- 30 Ward; to provide means for making this adjustrnent after the automobile is in place upon the suspension means, thus allowing a block and tackle to be used for raising the automobile toward the car roof and permitting the automobile to be lowered sufliciently to ive clearance in removing the block and tackle; to provide means for suspending automobiles in either metal or wooden cars and in general to provide an improved and simplified construction of the character referred to.

The invention further resides in such features of construction and arrangements and combinations of parts as will more fully hereinafter appear.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a cross section of a freight car showing the manner of suspending the automobile;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the suspension members shown in Fig. 1;

Figf? is a fragmentary perspective view showing a slightly modified construction of Where the automobiles are raised bya block and tackle it is customary to permit the auto-' mobile to drop back asuflicient amount to permit the removal of the block and tackle.

The present invention contemplates an arrangement whereby the automobile after being lowered to permitiof the removal of the block and tackle can be adjusted upward toward the roof so as to, permit of a second automobile being placed beneath the suspended one. In suspending the automobile it is necessary to provide very rigid support and one that 1s properlybraced. In the construction shown in igs. 1 and 2 I have employeda novel arrangement wherein a triangular suspension member A having sides B and G is provided with a U .bolt D adapted to be; clamped over the axle Eof the automobile, There is of course a pair-of these suspension members for both the front and rear axles of the automobiles. rangement F is employed for raising the automobile up toward t e roof of the freight car and w en "sopositioned the suspension The block and tackle armembers are attached as follows. The'upper ends of the rods G are hooked into the eye bolts G and the lower end of the rod extended through a hole H in the cross bar H of the triangular brace A. i

Secured to the side wall of the freight car is a cross brace L,there being one of these cross braces for each triangular brace and the ends A and A of the triangular brace extend under the brace L. The nut M is then tightened up on the rod G sufiiciently to hold the triangular brace in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. In removing the block and, tackle an X-shaped support N bearing against the brake band housing and resting on the floor of the car may 35 bracing position between the brake bands U on the threaded end'of the rod lower ends of the'main triangular brace are toe-nailed to the floor of the car and an auxiliary brace run from the head ofthe triangular or 'A-brace to the side of the car. This construction is particularly adapted for use where theside of the car is formed of steel .plates which would not permit the nailing of supports for-the A-braces directly to the side ofthe car.

. A rod Gr similar to the rod G is -eniployed in this" construction, and the end oi the auxiliary brace Gr rests against the 2 ;car side. Thus the same advantages of triad]ustment to raise part of the triangle after the automobile is an ar bracing in a pllurality of planes and e apex or supporting in position is vpermitted. In the mbdification shown fi thesupporting rods are omitted and the ends R and R of the sides S and S of the triangular brace S form a direct connection to the axle. A transverse bolt T extends through the sides S and S and can be tightened up to securely lock the ends in of the automobile and a large washer V temporarily placed in the axle. Where this construction is employed the lolwer end V of e triang e is first toeone of the sides of t 7 nailed to the floor and then the other sides "The end V of the side S is then nailed to shoved over toward it until the automobile is raised as far as possibletoward the ceiling.

the floor and the nut on the bolt T tightened up so that the automobile will be securely locked from movement 'in either direction.

Moreover in all cases there is sufiicient clearance left beneath the upper automobile to hold a second one even with cars havingv gs small a clearance as eight and one-half It will be seen that the several illustrative constructions shown in the patent drawings comprise what ma be termed truss structures in opposite si es of the car for suspending anautomobile therebetween clear of space for a subjacent automobile, and more particularly, in the forms illustrated, for

ans ndin the upperautomobile from its axles wh' e firmly bracing the same long1- tudinally and crosswise of the car. Each of these structures, in the s ific formsillustrated, comprises an A- race disposed to brace the, axle longitudinally and transin Figs. 4 and versely, and cooperating means transverse of the plane of the A-brace for maintaining the samein supporting and bracing Gposition, e. g., the inchned suspension rods in Fig. 1,

where the A-braces are disposed horizontally or struts diverging from the with their le supported ax es tothe adjacent side wall of the car; or the transverse struts Gr in Fig: 3, where the A-braces are disposed obliquely to the side walls or the nuts and temporary washers V in 4 whereby the oppositely inclined A-braces at opposite sides of the car are interconnected through the automobile axle to resist side thrust. In each of these structures the elements which transmit the vertical load of the suspended automobile to i the car body, viz, the suspension rods G in Fig. 1 and the legs or struts of the A-braces themselves in Figs. 3 and 4, are inclined to the side walls of the car, being thus clear of the intervening automobile space between opposite supporting and bracing structures as well as contributing importantly to the transverse. bracingefiect.

While I have shown and described various embodiments of my invention it is obvious that numerous cha s canbe made in the details of construction without departing from the 500 of my inventiontherefore do not esire to limit the latter except as s 'cified in the appended claims.

hat I claim as my invention is:

1. The combination with a freight car, of means for suspending an automobile therein, comprising a'triangular'brace member forming a triangular brace in both vertical and horizontal lanes, and means for raising the apex of one of the triangles after the automobile is in place. Y

- 2. The combination with a freight ear, of means for suspending an automobile therein, comprising a suspension member having a tri lar portion, means for securing the automo ile to the triangle and means for raising that ortionof the triangle toward the roof of tiie car while the automobile is supported on the suspension member.

3. .The combination with a freight car, of means for suspendingian automobile there'- in to provide clearance for asecond automobile beneath the first, said means comprising a triangular brace member and means for changing the position of the triangle to adjust the automobile toward the roof of the car.

4. The combination with a frei ht can-oi means for suspending an automo iletherein to provide clearance for a second automobile beneath the first, said m'eans'comprising a brace cooperating with the side of the car, said brace member'havi a portion projecting in a vertical plane an a portion projecting in a horizontal plane.

5.; The combination with a freight (is, of

means for supporting and bracing an autocooperating with eac mobile therein to provide clearance for a second automobile beneath the first, sald' means comprising in each side of the car 7 supporting and bracing elements located clear of an'intervening automobile space and cooperating with each other and with the car body to provide elevated supports for the upper automobile clear'of the space for the lgwer automobile and to form a triangular brace in both vertical and horizontal planes. 7

6. The combination with a. freight car, of means for supporting and bracing an automobile 'there1n to provide clearance for a second automobile beneath the first, said means comprising in each side of the car supporting and bracing elements located clear of an intervenin automobile space and other and with the car body to provide triangular braces, clear of the space for the lower automobile, for bracing the upper automobile longitudinally and transversely of the car.

7. The combinationwith a freight car, of means in opposite sides of the reight car for supporting an automobile therebetween to provideclearance for a second automobile beneath the first, comprising triangular brace members located clear of the space for the lower automobile and forming triangular braces in both vertical and horizontal planes. Q

8. The combination of a freight car, of means for suspending an automobile therein to provide clearance for a second auto.- mobile beneath the first, comprising tniangular bracing and supporting means in opposite sides of the car located clearof the space for the lower automobile and constructed and arranged to support the axles of the upper automobile while bracing the same longitudinally and transversely of the car.

9. The combination with a freight car, of means in opposite sides of the freight car for supporting an automobile therebetween to provide clearance for a second automobile beneath the first, comprising brace members cooperating with the sides of the car having portions projecting in horizontal and vertical planes, the space for one of the, automobiles being enclosed betwfieen the P tions ofsaid brace members which transmit the vertical load tothe car body. I

10. The dombination with a'frei'ght car, of means for suspending an automobile therein'to provide clearance for a second automobile beneath the first, comprising truss structures cooperating with the car body at opposite sides of an intermediate automobile space to provide elevated supports for the upper automobile braced longitudinally and crosswise of the car, saidw structures having divergent bracing struts and other stress-sustaining elements distruss structures cooperating with-the side walls of the car; said structures providing supports for the upper automobile braced longitudinally and crosswise of the car.

12. The combination with a height car, of means for suspending an automobile therein to provide clearance for a second automobile beneath the first, comprising truss structures cooperating with the car bodyat opposite sides of an intermediate automobile space to provide elevated supports for the upper automobile braced longitudinally and crosswise of the car.

13. The combination with a freight car, of truss structures in opposite sides of the car for supporting an automobile therebetween with clearance for a second automobile beneath the first, said structures forming triangular braces for bracing the automobile longitudinally and transversely of the car.

14. The combination with a freight car, of means for suspending an automobile therein toprovide clearance for a second side walls of the car to resist side thrust, said structures having struts disposed to provide bracing longitudinally of the carand cooperating stress-sustaining elements disposed transversely of the planes of said struts.

15. The combination with a freight car, of truss structures in opposite sides of the car for supporting an automobile therebetween with clearance for a second automobile beneath the first; said structures comprising elements inclined to the side Walls of the car for transmitting the vertical load of the upper automobile to the car body, and cooperating transverse elements adapted to resist side thrust; certain of said elements comprising divergent struts to provide bracing longitudinally of the car.

cooperating with each other to support the upper automobile and cooperating with the 16. In a system for supporting automo- I posed in two p anes relative to adjacent side walls and disposed to bracethe upper automobile longitudinally and transversely of the car.

I 17. In a system for supporting automobiles one above another in a freight car, a brace cooperating with the car body to provide an elevated side support for the upper automobile clear of the lower automobile,

said brace having portions projecting in different planes relative' to an adjacent side wall of the car to brace said automobile against movement in both vertical and horiz ontal lanes.

18. he combination with a freight car,

of means for supporting an automobile therein to provide clearance for a second automobile beneath the first, comprising in each side of the car supporting and bracing elements diverging from a common support-, ing point toward an adjacent'side wall in three directions to separate anchorages upon the car body to transmit thrusts in vertical, longitudinal and transverse directions.

19. The combination with a freight car, of means for supporting an automobile therein to provide clearance for a second automobile beneath the first, comprising in each side of the car supporting and bracing elements cooperating with each other and the car body to support the upper automobile by its axles and provide diagonalbracing therefor disposed to brace the upper automobile longitudinally and transversely of the car.

20. The combinationwith a freight car, of means for supporting an automobile therein to provide clearance for a second automobile beneath the first, comprising in each side of the carsupporting and bracing elements cooperating with each other and the car body to support the upper automobile and provide bracing therefor, said elements including divergent struts disposed obliquely to the side walls for bracing the upper automobile both longitudinally and transversely of the car.

21. The combination with'a freight car, of

to provide clearance for asecond automobile beneath the first, comp ising tripodal structures cooperating wit -the car body at op posite sides of an "intermediate automobile- -A-braces and members composing for supporting the axles of the upper auto- -mobile and bracing said axles longitudinally which transmit the vertical loadto the car bod beinginclined to the adjacent side walls of t e car and outside of the'automobile space between opposite structures 23. The combination with a freight car, of means'for suspendin an automobile therein to provide clearance or a second automobile beneath the first, comprising A-braces between the upper automobile axles and car at each side of the car,- dispos ed to brace said axles lon itudinally of the car,- and cooperating mem rs for sustaining stress transversely of the planes of the A-braces; Said structures for supporting said axles and racin the same crosswise as well as longitudinal y of the car; the elements of said structures which transmit the vertical load to the car body being inclined to the adjacent side walls of the car andarranged outside of the automoof the car; there being clear space for an automobile body above and below the supporting vertices of the ,A-braces. means for suspending an automobile therein 25. The combination with a freightcar; of

means for suspending an automob le therein to provide clearance for a second automobile beneath the first, comprising inclined load sustaining .elements at opposite sides of the car and transverse bracing elements'cooperating to. support the axles of the upper automobileand'brace the same longitudinally and crosswise of-the car; certain elements disposed in planes, transverse of other ele- -'ments forming A-braces."

i ALFRED COPONY. 

